Wards
by hmweasley
Summary: One day, Andromeda receives an unexpected visitor, but Narcissa isn't there just to reconnect with her estranged sister. Their niece has been locked in Azkaban, and Narcissa is determined to get her out, even if it means asking Andromeda for help.


**A/N: This was written for the Hogwarts Challenges & Assignments forum. The task was the Notable Witches and Wizards prompt: w** **rite about an event with unexpected outcome.**

 **Warning (since this may not be clear from the summary and such): This story takes place post-Cursed Child, and Andromeda and Narcissa discuss events from CC, meaning there are pretty significant spoilers here.**

Andromeda's life was a quiet one. The most excitement was when she was invited to Weasley family events. Those had been overwhelming when she'd first begun attending them in the aftermath of the war.

When she'd first married Ted, his parents had already passed away and hers wanted nothing to do with her, so they'd celebrated everything with just the two of them. She'd gotten used to quiet Christmases, made only a little louder when Nymphadora had joined them.

After the war, she'd accepted every offer given to spend holidays with others because she'd wanted to distract herself from the absence of her husband and daughter. The buzzing energy of the Burrow was so different from the stuffy gatherings of her own family decades ago that it had felt like something entirely new.

The rest of the year, however, she prefered the quiet. It was easier. Her past experience with pureblood politics had kept her at a distance from much of wizarding society even before Ted's death, and the knowledge that many would treat her grandson unfairly for his heritage didn't tempt her to more fully integrate herself either.

She wasn't a recluse. She did her shopping in Diagon Alley every Wednesday and, when he'd grown older, happily approved of Teddy's visits to his friends' houses during school breaks.

Still, she preferred to be at home rather than out and about most days.

That was the way it had been for decades, and she had no intention of changing it.

The knock on her door was startling because it was unexpected. She did receive visitors. Teddy, the Potters, the Weasleys. They stopped in from time to time, but she somehow knew the knock wasn't any of her typical visitors. Something about the knock felt off. It was a bit too stiff, too formal.

Andromeda would think back on it later and realize that she had known who she was opening the door to before she did so.

At the time, however, she had gasped when she'd found Narcissa on her doorstep. Her little sister was far older than she'd been the last time Andromeda had seen her. Wrinkles lined her face, but they didn't make her less elegant. She held her shoulders straighter than she had as a teenager.

"What are you doing here?" Andromeda asked with a frown.

If she had blinked, Andromeda would have missed the flicker of hesitance in Narcissa's eyes, but she hadn't blinked, and that hesitance was, perhaps, the only reason she stepped aside to let Narcissa into the house.

"I wish to speak to you about an important matter," Narcissa said as her eyes scanned her surroundings.

Her lip curled at the Muggle-inspired decor. When Andromeda offered her a seat on one of the plush armchairs, she sat with such reluctance that one might have believed she were sitting on an earth-coated rock she'd come upon in the forest.

Andromeda mirrored her posture from across the room, watching with narrowed eyes.

Narcissa wasted no time getting to business.

"I assume you've heard by now of the existence of Delphini Riddle."

"Of course," Andromeda replied, her stomach twisting at the thought of the girl. "Harry came to speak to me as soon as they detained her. He thought I should know."

Narcissa hummed.

"Yes, Draco was rather nervous when he spoke of her to me. He seemed to be under the impression that I would get more emotional knowing I had a niece I hadn't been previously aware of than of my grandson being dropped in an alternate timeline. My immediate reaction to Delphini, however, was anger. I still have no idea how Bella managed to conceal an entire pregnancy and birth from me, and furthermore, I cannot believe she wanted to."

Andromeda's eyes narrowed.

"And you're sure that she didn't tell you?"

Narcissa didn't allow Andromeda's accusation to ruffle her.

"I understand why you and others would have your suspicions. Bellatrix was, after all, under our roof for the duration of her pregnancy, but as I have already told the Ministry under the influence of Veritaserum, I had no knowledge of Delphini until Draco informed me of her transgressions last week. If I had, she would have been raised at Malfoy Manor, not allowed to anguish in squalor with Euphemia Rowle."

"I don't doubt that," Andromeda said. "And there's little doubt that such an arrangement would have been better for her. Perhaps she wouldn't have gotten it into her head that bringing her father back would give her the love she desired."

Narcissa's lips tightened.

"Perhaps," she agreed. "I certainly would have done my best to free her from her delusions that either of her parents were capable of such emotions."

The two women observed each other for a moment before Andromeda spoke.

"What are you doing here, Narcissa? I doubt it's solely to commiserate together over the fate of our unfortunate niece."

"Delphini is a young girl," Narcissa said, passion colouring her voice for the first time. "She was manipulated by Rodolphus Lestrange as a child. That fool of a man did little but put false ideas into her head until his death, and Euphemia Rowle helped him. Delphini is not too young to see the world with new eyes.

"Draco wasn't much younger during the war, and his own atonement has been accepted by Harry Potter himself. Delphini, meanwhile, was thrown into Azkaban without a chance for redemption."

Andromeda frowned.

"I've heard your son has turned a new leaf, Narcissa. Even Harry says so, and I trust his judgment. But it's also my impression that Draco managed to make it through the war without killing a single soul. Delphini is in Azkaban for the murder of a _child_ , not because the Ministry is callous enough to lock up a girl for being the daughter of Lord Voldemort."

"I'm well aware of her charge. In case you've forgotten, she also threatened my grandson, and that's not something I've taken lightly. I also seem to be the only one who is aware of her age."

"Delphini is an adult in the eyes of the Ministry of Magic."

"Barely so," Narcissa said. "They've questioned her about her birth. She's only twenty-three."

"You're grasping at straws. Today's sixth years were beginning Hogwarts when she turned seventeen. She's old enough to face the consequences of her crimes."

"Please, listen to what I have to say."

There was a quiet desperation in Narcissa's voice that quieted Andromeda. She sat back in her chair, observing Narcissa carefully as the blonde woman took a deep breath and continued speaking.

"I do not wish for Delphini to face no consequences. What I'm asking the Ministry for is a shortened sentence. Right now, she stands to be in Azkaban for ten years. By the time she gets out, she'll stand no chance of turning her life around. The dementors will only have stoked her bitterness. There will be no coming back from that. I've seen it.

"I've asked the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Minister to shorten the sentence to a year. After that year, I have told them I will take full responsibility for Delphini. She would live at Malfoy Manor, and I'm prepared to do anything else the Ministry wishes of me, including restricting her use of magic. I'll help her find a job, teach her about the horrors her parents committed, whatever they'd like as long as she's not locked away in some dirty cell surrounded by creatures who would love nothing more than to suck out her soul."

By the time she had finished, Narcissa's breathing had grown heavy. Andromeda watched her for several long moments, debating with herself.

"If you've already approached the Ministry with this, why are you here?" she asked.

Narcissa shifted in her chair and looked down at the coffee table that sat between them.

"The Malfoy name holds little, if any, sway with the Ministry these days. I wasn't under any delusions that it did when I first requested to speak with the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. However, I held hope that she would see reason, which she did not."

"You want me to take your case to Harry myself," Andromeda said slowly. "You haven't spoken to me since you were a child yourself, yet here you are, asking me to do something for you."

Narcissa cringed but didn't back down.

"She's your niece as much as she's mine. If there's one thing I know we both care about, it's family. Maybe we were unlucky when we were younger, but we each had better luck as adults, right? It was the same for Delphini. We can't erase the the stigma of her paternity or take back the years of being raised by the Rowles, but we can try to do better by her now, can't we?"

"Why did you marry Lucius after I ran away?" Andromeda asked instead of answering Narcissa's questions.

It had plagued her for years, and she'd never believed she'd get a chance to ask. With all the talk of family, she couldn't help but push for an answer.

"When I left, I didn't think they'd ask you to marry him. If I had, I'd have tried to get you to come with me. I left to avoid a loveless marriage, not force one on you."

Narcissa gave her the first hint of a smile she'd shown since arriving.

"You left because you were in love. I wasn't," she said gently. "My whole life I had believed I would marry a respectable pureblood and help further their family. I'm not lying to you, Dromeda, when I say I had no qualms about marrying Lucius, then or now.

"I don't regret it or feel any of the bitterness towards you that you might assume I do. If it comforts you to know this, I have no complaints about how Lucius has treated me during our marriage. He's never been a particularly warm man, but he's subjected me to no cruelty, which is all I hoped for out of marriage even as a child. I'd dare to say we're fonder of each other than our own parents were."

"I'll speak to Harry," Andromeda said, voice wavering. "I'm not taking up the mantle for you and demanding that Delphini be let free, but I will discuss her well being with him and Hermione. If they decide she would be better helped through rehabilitation, then I will recommend she be placed with your family. If nothing else, I agree that she could use a family. She's made that clear herself."

Narcissa didn't smile and thank her as many others would have, but she did give a slight nod of agreement. Andromeda expected her to stand and excuse herself, but she remained seated.

"Albus Potter introduced my grandson to yours."

It had been nearly a whisper. Andromeda sighed and gave a short nod.

"Teddy had mentioned it."

"Of course," Narcissa said, looking away. "Scorpius spoke highly of him. He's fascinated with his metamorphmagus abilities. He wanted to know if they came from the Black family. I told him that I didn't know of any Blacks who had the ability."

Andromeda hummed in response.

After a beat, Narcissa stood, dusting off her robes as she did so.

"I must be going," she said, brisk importance returning.

She hurried towards the door but paused just short of letting herself out.

"The wards on the manor aren't like they used to be," she said. "Albus Potter will be spending part of his summer with us. I'm sure Scorpius would appreciate another visit from Teddy as well."

Andromeda gave her no response, and Narcissa left as if she hadn't been expecting one.

As soon as she was gone, Andromeda sagged in her chair. She felt rather like she'd run a marathon.


End file.
